Too Many Espresso's
by Hermione 2000
Summary: Despite the title I didn't write this when I was high on coffee. I don't even like coffee. Anyway, this is Hermione telling the story of how she and Ron got together during the summer between fourth annd fifth year.


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Too Many Espresso's

A/N. I know, I KNOW, Hermione's v. out of character here, but hey, it was fun to write!!! New added poem….yes, I know I can't write poetry for squat!! Hermione thinking about Ron before this story took place!!!! I've put it up again 'cause, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rightly pointed out, I spelt espresso wrong….I also needed to change some facts about Bill and Charlie's room !!!!!!:} 

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Some day my dreaming will come to an end.

Some day he'll look at me as more than just a friend.

Someday he'll hold me tight.

And tell me everything will be alright.

Someday I'll know it's true.

I'll hear those words "I'll always love you."

Someday the bells will chime.

Someday over the rainbow.

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'Ron and Hermione sitting in a tree K I S S I N G

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in baby carriage!'

Why, why, why do they have to sing that ridiculous song! Why is it so strange that him and me are going out? We've been friends for long enough. Well, sort of friends anyway, despite all the arguing. I suppose if I'm telling you all this I should really start at the beginning and the beginning would be the summer holidays between our fourth and fifth year. I _would _have gone to Viktor's only we...well, it just didn't work out. It was weird, I didn't even really feel sad it was over but I didn't know why. I mean then, I know why _now _of course.

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So there I was sitting in a boiling hot, un-airconditioned, car on the way to Ron's, envisioning the few nights I'd have to spend at his house before Harry came. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't dreading seeing Ron, I was just dreading what he'd say when I told him it was over between Viktor and me. I really did want to talk to him before Harry came about…him basically. In each letter to us he replied that he was fine and that we should stop worrying about him. But I know him well enough to know that that was not the case. He doesn't like to let his emotions show but both Ron and me knew that _no one_, least of all him, could be fine after going through what he went through.

We pulled up at The Burrow, just in time to see Ron some out of his doorway, carrying a bucket of corn. I got quickly out the car and walked over to see him. When he saw me he gave me his trademark grin and when I was close enough to hear him he said;

'Got to feed the chickens. My turn tonight. Want to help?'

So, naturally, I said yes, as any good friend would.

Whilst we were walking over to the chicken coop he continued to talk. I couldn't help noticing that he was very brown and his freckles seemed to be double the number that I remembered.

'…got a letter from Harry yesterday saying he was looking foreword to coming round. I bet he is, living with those Dursleys, and with what he's already been through, I bet they're not helping much. Dad's at Hogwarts at the moment, you know, helping Dumbledore with all the top-secret stuff. Percy's driving me mad, as usual, it's always me this me that, he never shuts up about himself and his oh-so-important-work and…'

'Ron!' I interrupted sharply. 'I've only just this minute got here and you're rabbiting away like my grandmother. Please, just slow down!'

'But I have to talk fast or I'll forget what I was going to say.'

'Grandma? That you in there?' I replied teasingly, getting a fistful of corn over the head for a reply.

After we'd fed the chickens (though, I have to admit, more corn went over us than in the chicken coop) we went indoors, where my dad had dropped my stuff. I said hello to Ginny, and the twins before me and Ron lugged my stuff to his room. Now, usually I slept in Ginny's room, you know because she's a girl and it's so much less awkward, but this time I'd have to share Ron's room. Ginny was having her room redecorated at the moment so she was sleeping in the twins room (I perceived that they weren't ecstatically happy about this) but I said I didn't mind sharing with Ron. He didn't seem to mind either so I set up my camp bed, though it would have taken me less time if Ron hadn't been trying to help. He, like his father, had no idea how muggle things work. 

Sitting on his bed with him whilst he talked about…nothing really, I decided I'd have to summon up the courage to tell him what happened between me and Viktor. I'd avoided answering his questioning so far in the letters he'd sent me. Just as I was about to say something along the lines of 'it's over' Ron brought up the subject himself, or at least he brought it into his one-person conversation and I caught the last few words.

'…Viktor won't be pleased you're spending some nights in another guys bedroom!' I looked at him to see his face turned to me, a shadow of a grin still on his face, though I noticed he didn't look too happy.

'I…I…' I stammered, not knowing how to say it but, luckily, he said it for me.

'He dumped you?' I caught something like disbelief in his voice.

'It was a mutual agreement.' 

'Oh.'

There was an awkward silence in which Ginny popped her head round the door.

'Supper's ready!

The supper was, as customary of the Weasley's, excellent. All of them, as again is customary with the Weasley's, were talking with their mouths full. So it wasn't just Ron who was talking at great speed today, I thought to myself, perhaps they've all discovered the joy of too many espresso's.

It was long after midnight before we all went to bed. I noticed Ron's speech had been getting slower and slower as he got more and more tired. The two of us trudged wearily up the stairs, longing to collapse into bed.

Once I'd been to the bathroom and done things in that nature to get ready for bed I went back to Ron's room and climbed into my sleeping bag. He was reading one of his comics which depicted Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle.

'Aren't you a bit old for that?' I asked him.

He just shrugged but put down the comic none the less.

'Come up here and talk to me,' he half whined, patting his bed.

Sighing, I got up and went over to him, and, with a brief hesitation, clambered into his bed, (A/N. Yes I know my characters do a lot of that in my stories, I have noticed, but nothing DIRTY like that happens in my stories ok, I'm fifteen!!!!:}) remarking that I was a bit chilly. (perhaps not one of my better lies seeing as it was the middle of June and very hot) He seemed unperturbed at this so we talked normally until we hit a subject that made me squirm slightly: that so called 'love triangle' between Harry, Viktor and me.

'So he was your first boyfriend, huh?'

'Yes, I suppose so. I mean, back in year five there was a boy called Michael that kept trying to make me play kiss-chase with him!'

'And did you?'

I wrinkled my nose slightly and replied indignantly, 'Of course not! What do you take me for…and don't you dare say a _scarlet woman_ or any words to that effect!'

The grin plastered all over his face that told me he _was _going to say words to that effect, drove me to the action of picking up his pillow and walloping him with it. He retaliated by picking up _my _pillow and hitting me with it and…well, you can guess what happened from there on!

After about ten minutes of him chasing me round the room whilst I…yes, I'll admit it…squealed like the defenceless bimbo that I most definitely am _not_, we collapsed on his bed laughing and hoping we hadn't woken anyone up.

'You know Hermione,' started Ron, as he lay on his side next to me. 'You're a really good friend, did you know that?'

'That's the nicest thing you've ever said,' I replied, quite taken aback. 'Why do you say that?'

'Because last year when Harry and me were, you know, not talking, you didn't just side with one of us, you took both our sides. I really appreciate that. I don't know why Krum ever let you go. I know I wouldn't if you ever…' here he stopped short

I'd been listening to his praise in an almost dreamlike state before that last sentence woke me up properly!

'What!' I asked, not knowing if I'd heard right.

'Oh, well, you know…' he said awkwardly, picking at his bedcover. I could see he was painfully aware that his ears were going red.

'No, I don't know. What were you going to say?' I suppose this was cruel of me seeing as I could guess quite easily, but still, I had to make sure.

He mumbled something into his pillow.

'What?'

'Oh, don't make me say it again!'

'No, I…I honestly didn't hear you.' That was the truth.

He took a deep breath.

'I…I…what I was _going _to say was that….that…I'd never let you go if…if…you went out with me.' He almost whispered the last words but I caught all of them. I was just about to say something when he continued talking though in a rather shaky sort of voice.

'I…I've liked you for…for a long time now Hermione. And I really wanted to ask you to the ball but then _he _asked you and…'

'Why didn't you ask me first?' I asked him softly.

'I couldn't. I didn't have enough guts, alright? I'm sorry I accused you of _fraternising _with the enemy but I felt so angry that…he'd beat me to it. Do you hate me?' All the way through the tail end of the conversation he's had his eyes cast down but now he looked at me on the last sentence, his eyes pleading me not to say yes.

'Of course I don't hate you Ron!' I exclaimed, sitting up 'Why would I hate you? If you want to know truth I, well, I kind of like you too.'

'Really?'

'Well, yeah. If you want to try it, if you're not joking or anything…'

'I'm not joking! Why would I be joking!'

'OK, OK, I said if! What I mean to say is, if you want we can…we can…' Now I knew how he felt, trying to get the point across to someone who already knew what the point was but just wanted to hear the person squirm as they tried to say it!

'Go out?' he said, relieving me of saying it

'You asking?'

'If you're going to say yes I am!'

'Ahhh, well, OK, I suppose so, if I must!' I said teasingly.

'What d'ya mean "if I must"?' he said, laughing as he pounced on me and pinned me down. 'I'm not forcing you now am I?'

'Stop it!' I giggled as he began to tickle me.

Suddenly the two of us became quiet and serious as we looked deeply into each others eyes (I _suppose_ it was deeply…whatever that means…it's a bit of a cliché, isn't it?)

'Will you really?' he asked.

'Yes, of course I will,' I replied and then…I suppose you can guess…but he kissed me. I can tell you truthfully but I have never felt such love in my life. I mean like boyfriend love, not parent love, I don't want you to feel like I'm being neglected or anything! That one kiss meant so many things to me, I cannot describe them in words, you have to really feel what I felt then to know. I can say though, that I know, deep in my heart that I will always love him no matter what, I will stand by him though everything that happens to him and to me, by his side I am immortal…nothing can touch me.

Phew, OK, got a bit hot and heavy there didn't it? I can't _truthfully_ say from then on that it's been all candyfloss and pink clouds, oh no, we've had our fair share of arguments but nothing's ever _really_ split us apart, well there was that one time…but that's another story. When we announced to Harry about us he didn't seem in the least surprised, nor apparently did anyone else! They all thought we were bound to get together sometime…nice of them to tell us wasn't it?

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'Aw, knock it off!' I yelled back to the kiddies, OK Fred and George, who were chanting that song that they learnt, God knows where, I always thought it was muggle, as me and Ron walked off hand in hand into the trees.

A/N. I didn't want to put 'into the trees' because, well, YOU know, but it wouldn't be written as anything else so there you have it. That line 'by his side…nothing can touch me' came from thin air. I know for a fact that I cannot write as poetically as that, Midnight Breeze can, I can't!!! Perhaps I was possessed by a great writer like William Shakespeare as I wrote that because it just flowed out of no where!!! I'll shut it now!!!:}

Disclaimer: I own the world…..nayahahahah…lie…I own nothing of interest really…apart from a really nifty pen which stamps out green footprints… 


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